18 November 2017

2017 Round Up Review Part 11

Welcome to a round up review! Similar to
the Round-Up posts I put up earlier in the year, I’m going to be posting some
bullet point reviews, sort of akin to the one's that you get in magazines,
short and to the point. I complete my first one of these reviews around
last Christmas, mainly due to the volume of albums that were still left to
review at that time of year, the lack of time to review them all and this is
happening for similar reasons. Basically, there is only so much time available
to a one-man team, I cannot complete the full detailed blog that I usually post
on here, as I need to work to feed myself, look after my lady and generally
keep a roof over my head. So, the list of albums that I want to review,
promised to review, need to review has grown beyond my control. At any
given moment, it tends to hit north of 100 with ease and going forward, I will
need to get that down with these sorts of blogs. Now, I will be breaking
these round ups down into batches of ten, they will be minus the normal link to
purchase of stream the albums (due to space) but you will be able to find these
online very easily (legal links, remember - this is not that type of
blog). I will be using the same introduction to each of these blog, if
only to save more time. Thanks for reading - Eddie.

Anathema – The Optimist

If you have followed Anathema from their very
beginning, the fact they have finally over that last few albums became a full
on progressive band is a joy to behold.The Optimist is a continuation to
Distant Satellites, taking their sound further down the road towards who knows
where.TO be honest, The Optimist feels
like a journey from beginning to end, ask if you are joining in half way
through a saga and then you are left at the side of the road, trying to find
out what has happened.This is a better
record than Distant Satellites, almost as good as Weather Systems and it proves
that Anathema are one of the best bands in the UK at the moment.

8 out of ten – Oh, now you have my attention and maybe my time, money and heart.

Top song – Leave It Behind

With the Dead – Love from With the Dead

Picking from the devastation left after With The Dead was released, Love from With The Dead is another sonic
noise attack, heavy bass’d and full of the sounds of demons and angels having a
barney over your soul.It is best played
very loud and with your horns in the air.It is also slower than a funeral march (as you would expect), with lots
of moments that sound as if a drill is coming through the floor when played at
the right frequency.What a great
record!

8 out of ten – Oh, now you have my attention and maybe my time, money and heart.

Top track – Egyptian Tomb

All Pigs Must Die – Hostage Animal

With all the determination of a boot to the
face, continually kicking till the end of eternity, Hostage Animal is a black
ball of fury and venom that does not stop from beginning to end.All Pigs Must Die are not a subtle band,
everything is at full speed, the drummer sounds like a machine and the frantic
noise is spectacular.If you’re looking
for an album with some rest bite, look elsewhere.If you’re looking for the next sonic attack
to be deafening, Hostage Animal might be your cup of evil.

8 out of ten – Oh, now you have my attention and maybe my time, money and heart

When two of the biggest artist in the
Alternative Indie/Folk scene come together to make an album, a lot of people
stop to take notice.Courtney Barnett
& Kurt Ville are not two artists I would have put together, mainly because
their playing styles are a mismatch to these ears.Ms Barnett is a ball of chaos, Mr Ville is a
droning country/indie pop trailer blazer.Bringing them together has mixed results to be honest, there is a lot of
jarring moments and it does not flow that well.I have heard a lot worst, I still think that they are both great
artists, but together it does not work for me, this is not my cup of tea.

3 out of ten – It could have been a bit better.

Top track – Continental BreakfastGrande Royale – Breaking News

Whilst this was only recorded and released in
2017, Breaking News sounds as if it
was created in the 70’s and that we have unearthed a long-lost rock
classic.It’s so retro, everything
sounds vintage, but it also sounds fantastic as well.For a retro sounding record, it doesn’t have
a classic sheen, and that is all down to the producer of this album.The production job by Nicke Andersson is
warm, rich and poised perfectly.Songs
like “Devil’s Place” “Got to Move” and “R’N’R Business” are hard-rock anthems
for the future, they will gain notoriety and I am sure they will sound
fantastic live!

9 out of ten – Almost perfect, almost….

Top track – Devil’s Place

Marty Friedman – Wall of Sound

Your ability to listen to Wall of Sound will depend on how much you love instrumental music,
how much you love trash metal and how much you love guitar solos. When Marty
Friedman left Megadeth, the band lost their shining light and I lost touch what
Mr. Friedman was up to.Well, he has kept
on ploughing away, forging his own path and made a good career for himself in
Japan.This is his twelfth solo album
(his work with Freddy Lim on Metal Clone
X does not come into his solo work for me, hence why it is not the
thirteenth), and it is great to hear the man play again.Now, this album is not gonna be an easy ride
for everyone, but I love the sound of this record, you can hear elements of
trash, folk, Japanese heritage, classical, jazz, even a little piece that is
heading in Zappa territory, this album is a great record.Also, I do love the title, Wall of Sound, I think the connection to
why should be obvious…...

8 out of ten – Oh, now you have my attention and maybe my time, money and heart.

Top track – Self Pollution.

Public Enemy – Nothing Is Quick In The Desert

You have to love a free download from a band,
especially when it is the world famous Public Enemy dropping a new slab of
rap.When Nothing Is Quick In The Desert was released, it was available as a
free download on Bandcamp (sadly, it has since been took down), musically it is
as business as usual for Public Enemy.They have always been one of my favourite rap acts, this album is a good
edition to their back catalogue.There
is something amazing that they are still kicking out this choice cuts, even
after all these years!

7 out of ten – This is good and worth checking out

Top track – Yesterday Man

Public Service Broadcasting – Every Valley

Public Service Broadcasting were hoping to do
for the mining communities of Wales and England what they accomplished on The
Race for Space, but sadly they missed their target a little.I am well aware this review (essentially)
come down to me and my tastes, but they rely a little too much on guest
vocalists on this one, where there were beautiful instrumentals with fantastic
news footage (there is still a lot of that too – just not enough for me), there
are other voices which do not add anything to the structure, apart from an
unwelcome distraction.The music is
still good, but I wonder what it could have been.

6 out of ten – Now I see where you were going, but it is not quite there.

Top track – All Out

Black Country Communion – BCCIV

BCCIV is an album that some people thought would
never happen at one point, what with all the in-fighting and public bitch
slapping between various members of the band, but you could hear a collective
sigh of relief from the classic rock community when they all made up.BCCIV is a straight forward classic rock
album, all frills, all passion and more guitar solos that an album outside of
the Led Zeppelin discography should really have.Which is not a bad thing, but this is for
genre purists only, thank the deity I love this sort of stuff as well.

8 out of ten – Oh, now you have my attention and maybe my time, money and heart.

Top track – Collide
The Bug & Earth – Concrete Desert

The combination of The Bug and Dylan Carlson of
Earth is a match made in sonic heaven (or hell, depending on your point of
view/religious standpoint), as they are both experts in creating music from the howling voids of
noise.This album is as enigmatic as you
would expect, it is not an album to relax to, it is one to analyse, absorb and
to lay yourself bare to.Concrete Desert
is constantly on attack mode, but without having to descend to frantic noises
or periods of electronica mania.As I
once said when reviewing Angels and
Devils by The Bug; basically, we are fucked!Well, this is another stroke of genius/lunacy
(delete as applicable) were we are all basically fucked.You will either
get this, accept it as your idol, letting it become become a focal point in your life, or curl up in a small ball for
protection.It is unmarkable genius,
just pure genius.

Box of kittens – This is impossible to mark, so here is a picture of a box of
kittens.

Welcome to the final round-up review of 2017! Similar to the Round-Up posts I put up earlier in the year, I’m going to be posting some bull...

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There is nothing to download here - We share no links to free downloads, only to either Spotify, Amazon or the artist themselves. Support the artists and purchase the music, or at least listen to the Spotify link - they do get something from there, even if it is criminally low. All views given on this blog are only the opinions of the person who has written the blog and they are to be took with a pinch of salt. If you disagree, that is your choice, just as it is the reviewer's when they post their thoughts and views. Also, any photos used are from sources such as Wikipedia or Amazon - we aim to get free images where ever possible. All copyright belongs to the person who painted the image, the photographer, the graphic designer, the artist/bands in question obviously and as stated above there is no illegal downloads linked to this page.

If you have any requests for what you would like to see reviewed, let us know in a comment. You can also contact us at iisfoley1@gmail.com. Please note, if we have not replied within 3 weeks, we will not be reviewing the submission.

Album scoring system

0 - This is proof there is no deity1 - You're really are touching the bottom of the barrel with this one2 - If only there was some quality control3 - It could have been a bit better4 - Well it's alright, but still......5 -Not for everyone but played well6 - Now I see where you were going, but it's not quite there7 - This is good and well worth a check8 - Oh, now you have my attention and maybe my money, time and heart9 - Almost perfect....Almost10 - This is proof there is a deity(For albums that are too crazy to be marked)Crazy Cat symbol - This album cannot be marked, so here is a box of kittens

Singles/EP Marking System

0 - Only to be listened to by people bless with the gift of being deaf1 - Not so much on the bad that it is bottom of the barrel, but it can see the stuff down there2 - Not bad, not good - so average it is Zen3 - Decent, getting there4 - This is really good, well worth checking out5 - I wish I had extra ears to love this more(For Singles/EPs that are too crazy to mark)Crazy Cat symbol - This release cannot be marked, so here is a box of kittens